Subhashita #0005

A saintly soul is never ungrateful, and never forgets even the small favors bestowed on him/her, especially in the difficult times:

prathama-vayasi pītaṁ toyam alpaṁ smarantaḥ
śirasi nihita-bhārā nārikelā narāṇām
dadati jalam analpāsvādam ājīvitāntaṁ
nahi kṛtam upakāraṁ sādhavo vismaranti

"Remembering the little drops of water that were sprinkled on it in its childhood by a kind person, the coconut tree carries the load of coconuts for all humans and gives them nectarean water throughout its life. Indeed, saintly souls never forget even a small favor [and dedicate their lives to repaying it back]."
— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sajjana-praśaṁsā, page 51, Verse 220)

[Import: For a devotee, the greatest favor he/she receives is the transcendental knowledge of Krishna-bhakti from a bona-fide guru. In return, if the devotee does not preach it to others by giving any excuse, then such a devotee risks being ungrateful to the guru. Not giving the gift of spiritual life to others is the greatest hypocrisy. Forgetting the favour that was bestowed on him/her, such a devotee gradually slips back into māyā and practises a relaxed and compromised version of Krishna-bhakti within his/her comfort-bubble.]

(Originally posted on Facebook on 22-March-2015)

Subhashita #0004

The aim of any system of yoga is to conquer the mind and make it favorable to the Lord. The aim is not to conquer the senses and achieve mastery over them:

jaḍās tapobhiḥ śamayanti dehaṁ
budhā manaś cāpi vikāra-hetum
śvā muktam astraṁ daśatīti kopāt
kṣeptāram uddiśya hinasti siṁhaḥ

"The fools try to conquer and pacify the senses by their austerities. The intelligent on the other hand, try to conquer the original cause — the mind. This is because the mind is the root of all material distress. Just like the foolish dogs express their anger by trying to bite the arrow that has hit them, whereas the intelligent lion finds out the hunter (the cause of distress) and slaughters him."

— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Vicāraḥ, Page 375, Verse 238)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 21-March-2015)

Subhashita #0003

Depending on others materially and residing in a foreign place is always a source of distress:

śirasā dhāryamāṇo 'pi
somaḥ somena śambhunā
tathāpi kṛśatāṁ dhatte
kaṣṭaḥ khalu parāśrayaḥ

"Depending on others and accepting their shelter is certainly a cause of distress [for one cannot live freely in such situations]. Although the moon is provided a residence on his head by Lord Shiva (and Parvati), it is unable to attain its complete maturity and remains always restricted in the form of a crescent."
— (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Para-gṛha-vāsaḥ, Page 96)

[Import: The moon never attains fullness on the head of Lord Shiva. It always remains a partial crescent, simply because it feels uncomfortable in a foreign place being dependent on someone else. Similar is the condition of the jīva, who cannot express itself completely in the foreign environment of the material world due to being dependent on various ungrateful entities. Only on attaining complete dependence on the Lord does the jīva find its real well-wisher and is able to express itself fully and live freely.]

(Originally posted on Facebook on 20-March-2015)

Subhashita #0002

Sādhu-saṅga can make a disqualified person achieve the impossible:

asajjanaḥ sajjana-saṅgi-saṅgāt
karoti duḥsādhyam apīha sādhyam
puṣpāśrayāc chaṁbhu-śiro 'dhirūḍhā
pipīlikā cumbati candra-bimbam

"By the association of great souls, a rascal can achieve the impossible, just as an ant in the association of a flower on the hair of Lord Shiva can actually perform the feat of touching the moon."

- (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Sat-saṅgati-praśaṁsā, page 87)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 19-March-2015)

Subhashita #0001

In an assembly of people whose only motivation is to demotivate and criticize, it is wiser to keep silent and have faith in hari-guru-vaiṣṇavas:

kolāhale kāka-kulasya jāte
virājate kokila-kūjitaṁ kim?
parasparaṁ saṁvadatāṁ khalānāṁ
maunaṁ vidheyaṁ satataṁ sudhībhiḥ

"When a loud commotion of a massive group of crows is going on, there will be no value of a cuckoos sweet voice. Similarly when rascals converse with each other, the saintly souls advise us to keep 'constantly' quiet." (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Mauna-guṇāḥ, page 86)

(Originally posted on Facebook on 18-March-2015)

A peerless lotus garland for Sri Radha (amlānāmbuja-mālā)

Seeing that Krishna is suffering pangs of separation, the mañjarīs approach Śrī Rādhe with a peerless lotus garland, and say to her:

surata-rati-rate sarasa-rasa-rase

mura-maraka-rame varatara-varade

hara hara dharaṇī-dhara-dhara-virahaṁ

sphura ca rati-rasaṁ sura-vara-turage

SYNONYMS

surata-rati-rate — O [Rādhe] engaged (rate) in amorous love (surata-rati)!

sarasa-rasa-rase — O [Rādhe], the flowing river (rase) of delightful (sarasa) conjugal mellows (rasa)!

mura-maraka-rame — O [Rādhe], the beloved (rame) of Mura’s killer (mura-maraka)!

varatara-varade — O [Rādhe] bestower (varade) of excellent benedictions (varatara)!

hara hara — Please drive away! Please drive away!

dharaṇī-dhara-dhara-viraham — The feeling of separation (viraham) of the lifter (dhara) of the great mountain Govardhana (dharaṇī-dhara);

sphura ca rati-rasam — and (ca) bring about (sphura) mellows of conjugal love (rati-rasam);

sura-vara-turage — in the heart (turage) of [Krishna], the master of all gods (sura-vara);

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

O Rādhe, engaged in amorous love! O flowing river of delightful conjugal mellows! O beloved lover of Mura’s killer! O bestower of excellent benedictions! Please drive away, drive away the feeling of separation of the lifter of the [Govardhana] hill, and bring about mellows of conjugal love in the heart of [Krishna] the master of all gods.

SANSKRIT EXPLANATION

virahākuṇṭhitaṁ kṛṣṇam ālokya mañjarī-gaṇāḥ śrī-rādhikām amlānāmbuja-mālāṁ dattvā tāṁ prati prārthayanti — ‘surata-rati-rate’ iti. surata-ratau yā ratā magna-cittā sā surata-rati-ratā. sarasa-rasasya madhura-rasasya yā rasā nadī sā sarasa-rasa-rasā. rasā nadī iti ṛg-veda-bhāṣye sāyaṇācāryeṇa likhitam. mura-marakasya murāreḥ yā ramā sā mura-maraka-ramā. marakaḥ mārī iti jaṭā-dharaḥ. varatarasya su-śobhitasya varasya yā dātrī sā varatara-varadā. nāma-catuṣṭayena sambodhayitvā mañjaryaḥ punaḥ samprārthayanti — he rādhike! dharaṇī-dhara-dharasya govardhana-dharasya kṛṣṇasya virahaṁ hara tathā sura-varasya kṛṣṇasya turage citte rati-rasaṁ sphura! turagaḥ cittam iti medinī.

READING THE LOTUS-DIAGRAM

Each lotus can be read in a peculiar fashion. For example, the first term — surata-rati-rate can be read as follows:

 

THE LOTUS DIAGRAM

 

Āryā-sapta-śatī Verse 51 — A Clever Pun

The famous poet named Sri Govardhana Acharya composed the magnum opus named ‘Āryā-saptaśatī’. The title literally means — ‘Seven hundred verses in the āryā-meter.’ The āryā is a difficult to sing meter having many variations. Many authors (Srila Rupa Goswami included) use āryā as a meter in the auspicious invocatory verses of their respective literature.

Verse 51 of the Āryā-sapta-śatī has a special play on words:

masṛṇa-pada-rīti-gatayaḥ sajjana-hṛdayābhisārikāḥ surasāḥ
madanādvayopaniṣado viśadā govardhanasyāryāḥ

—(Āryā-sapta-śatī, Verse 51)

External Meaning:
“Their words (pada) flow (gatayaḥ) in a soft manner (masṛṇa-rīti); they are the captivators (abhisārikā) of the hearts of gentlemen (sajjana-hṛdaya); they are full of suitable rasa (surasāḥ); they are like the great manual (upaniṣadaḥ) for the unparalleled god of love (madana-advaya). Indeed, the poetic āryās (verses in āryā meter) of the poet Govardhana (govardhanasya) are full of unfathomable qualities (viśadā).”

Internal Meaning:

“Their feet (pada) walk around (gatayaḥ) in a gentle manner (masṛṇa-rīti); they are the amorous lovers (abhisārikā) of the heart of the gentle soul Krishna (sajjana-hṛdaya); they are full of passionate conjugal love (surasāḥ); they are the ones who always sit near (upaniṣadaḥ) the unparalleled god of Love (madana-advaya) i.e. Krishna. Indeed, the chaste gopī ladies (āryās) belonging to the Govardhana Hill (govardhanasya) are full of unfathomable qualities (viśadā).”